Pupils sent home for wearing 'non-uniform' wristbands in memory of tragic cancer pal
HEARTLESS school chiefs have banned pupils from wearing wristbands in memory of a boy who died from cancer – because they are not part of the UNIFORM.
Pals of brave Jordan Cobby, 14, created the touching tribute after he lost his battle with eye cancer in March last year.
The sky-blue bracelets - inscribed with the words ‘Jordan Cobby, R.I.Paradise, Forever 14’ - were sold at the school for £1 each with the money going to the Teenage Cancer Trust charity.
Pals of brave Jordan Cobby, 14, created the touching tribute after he lost his battle with eye cancer in March last year.
The sky-blue bracelets - inscribed with the words ‘Jordan Cobby, R.I.Paradise, Forever 14’ - were sold at the school for £1 each with the money going to the Teenage Cancer Trust charity.
But on Monday, officials at the Nuneaton Academy, Warks.,where the youngster was a pupil banned the rubber bracelets and even sent one of his best friends HOME when he refused to take it off.
Mum Zoe Ashby, 38, said staff at the school, which caters for 1,200 pupils aged 11-18, had outlawed the wristbands - in the colours of Jordan’s favourite football team Coventry City - because they were not part of the school uniform.
Disgusted Zoe said she couldn’t believe it when the school phoned to say that her son, Harris, was being sent home.
She said: “I don’t think they realise how much Jordan’s death affected the kids. The bands have sentimental value and mean so much to these youngsters.
“My son Harris played football with Jordan since they were seven and on Monday I got a call from the school to say he was being sent home as he had refused to take the band off.
“It’s just ridiculous.
“I asked them for something in writing about why he had been excluded but all they would say is that he wasn’t wearing the correct uniform.
“We haven’t got a clue why the school has suddenly decided to turn round and say ‘no more wristbands’.
“Jordan suffered for a long time and all his friends were aware of his cancer, it’s like they went through it with him.
“I am proud of Harris for refusing to take the wristband off. It is not a fashion accessory, it is a memorial to his best friend and a way of raising money and awareness for a cancer charity.”
Around 400 outraged parents have signed an online petition demanding the school allows pupils to wear the wristbands.
One parent said: “It is like the school is trying to wipe out the memory of Jordan.
“The wristbands are a celebration of his life as much as anything but the school has basically told pupils it is time to forget he ever existed.”
School chiefs say they will pay for a cover for pupils’ diary organisers which will feature a memorial montage of Jordan designed by the students.
But Zoe added: “It’s all well and good offering things like planner covers, but they don’t have the same significance as the wristbands.”
Jordan’s mum Joanne Meuse, 45, from Nuneaton, said the school had been happy for the children to wear the bands for the last 18 months.
She said: “Jordan was a former pupil of the Nuneaton Academy and was, still is, a much-loved and valued friend of these students.
“When he passed away in March 2011 from cancer, I and my family found a great deal of comfort from the many thoughts and actions of these young people.
“They showed great compassion and a maturity far beyond their years. They are a credit to the Nuneaton Academy.
“The bands do not affect their learning but it is their way of showing respect and keeping a part of Jordan with them.
“A quote from one of Jordan’s friends was ’I write with my right hand and my band is on my left, when I am struggling or going through a tough time, I just look at my band and remember what a brave hero Jordan was and all that he went through’.”
Tragic Jordan developed a golf-ball sized malignant tumour behind his right eye in August 2008 but lost his battle with cancer in March last year.
Source from great website : http://www.thesun.co.uk
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